Snakes and Arrows
by SinfulFox
Summary: New student Isabelle Spicer befriends a fellow newbie, Jimmy Hopkins, and is pulled into his wild antics with his other friends, Gary and Petey. When Gary ditches his friends to scheme of taking over Bullworth, lovestruck Belle is hit the hardest. Undeterred in her romantic endeavors, she obtains a new goal: to prove herself worthy of his attention! [OC x Gary?]
1. New School - Old Habits

Daylight streamed down like a golden cascade of warmth onto the dull-colored, stone architecture. A flock of birds fluttered carelessly across the blue canvas sky, and those bright emerald eyes followed them until they drifted out of view, past the frame of the tall window. With a quiet sigh, the young female reached up to the long bangs of her raven hair, her finger delicately tracing a loop behind her ear to tuck away the persistent strands. She gazed down to the courtyard below, watching as the students walked to and from the school itself or simply walking past. Her mind seemed to saunter aimlessly around the anticipation of the school year that lie ahead, occasionally daring her to wonder what the students would be like, or if the classes would be engaging, but for the most part just remaining calm, quiet, and blurred. It was such a strange feeling to stand there, leaning against the railing on the second floor of a school she hardly knew, looking down to a kingdom of strangers and knowing that she soon would be amidst them.

* * *

 **SNAKES AND ARROWS**  
 _Chapter 1: New School — Old Habits_

* * *

Already having changed into her choice of school uniform – a dark green Astronomy Vest over a short-sleeved white polo and a green plaid skirt, along with striped arm warmers and stockings – she decided she should go unpack and get settled in her new room. She'd passed the girls' dormitory on her way in, so she knew where it was, walking sheepishly among unknown boys and girls as she neared the corner. However, she heard a low rumble of noise in the opposite direction, and chose to go investigate. Instead of turning to go to the girls' dorm, she turned the other way to head towards the boys', where she saw a group of guys standing with their backs to her. They were cheering and shouting and grunting like excited animals, and as she got closer, she could see they were circled around two other guys who were beating each other up – or rather, one of them was getting their ass handed to them by the other. The guys in the crowd as well as the guy losing the fight were all wearing only the white button-up polo with the Bullworth emblem on the chest, but the little spitfire fighter wasn't dressed in uniform at all.

The boys didn't seem to notice her as they yelled and encouraged their friend to get up and fight, despite the fact that he was pretty much knocked out, so she was able to easily slip in between them to get a front row seat. It was these situations that made her grateful for her small size. She watched with an almost childish delight, her eyes wide and alert and drinking in the violence. The nearly flawless victor laughed as he stood over the fallen.

"Hahaha! Not so tough now, are ya? Come on, who's next?!" As he boasted to the fellow watchers, the door to the dormitory behind him opened and out emerged a gargantuan dressed in the same style as the others. His unexpected bulk even made the female flinch slightly – what an exciting first day, and it was still only morning!

"You're dead, new kid! _Dead_!" The deep, haughty voice seemed to echo against the concrete wall and chain-link fence before the heavy figure bolted down the steps, an angry and frighteningly large fist crashing into the kid's face. He stumbled backwards a few steps as the giant roared, beating his chest like an overly aggressive gorilla. The guys around her suddenly turned and ran, disappearing as an older black male seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Hey! Hey! Break it up!" He marched up to the both of them as he scolded them loudly. "Not the smartest choice to pick fights on your first day, boy!" The bigger student saw his opportunity and quickly left, and the teacher made no attempt to go after him. "At least change out of those clothes and put on your uniform before you go around trying to assert your dominance." He gave the kid a look of disgust before turning and leaving, walking right past the girl as she stepped to the side. His words had left a sort of sting in the air, and as she looked back to the boy, she saw as he rolled his eyes and sighed. The teacher had said it was his first day, too, so he probably didn't have any friends yet. She saw her chance and moved forward.

"Well that sure was entertaining!" She said with a friendly smile as she approached him. He had begun to turn towards the dorm but stopped and turned back to her with an agitated expression as her eyes widened. "Err, the fight, I mean, not the scolding part~"

"Yeah, I figured."

"Oh… Well, just… in case…" Her voice trailed off awkwardly for a moment. "Uh, sorry~" she laughed nervously and shook her head. "I overheard that you were new, and today's my first day, too! Oh… haha, that rhymed!" She laughed again from the rising tension, listening to herself as he just stared at her. Stopping herself from chattering further, she took a breath. "Anyways, um, I figured since we were both new here, it might be a good idea to maybe stick together and become friends. It would probably make it easier to adjust here and all… I'm Belle, by the way!"

He continued to watch her for a moment before quietly sneering. "Easier to adjust? I don't exactly see you getting attacked or yelled at. I think you'll do just fine on your own." He turned to go up the steps but she quickly moved around him.

"Trust me, the girl world is more vicious and merciless. If I could end it with a few punches, I would." Her playful remark caused him to smile just a bit before walking around her. She didn't want to pester him, and was already afraid she'd messed up her chance to make her first friend. "I get it, the whole 'lone wolf' act. That's fine. Just… know that if you do need a friend, I'll be around."

He stopped for a moment as he reached the door, and glanced down to her over his shoulder. "…Jimmy Hopkins. Nice to meetcha, Belle."

Her eyes lit up as she grinned and nodded, and he opened the door and disappeared into the dorm. She spun around and gave her own victorious laugh. "Haha! I have obtained an acquaintance! Boo ya~!" Feeling a bit more confident than before, she looked onward to the girls' dormitory across the courtyard. She might have been slightly awkward around guys, but she was even worse when it came to other girls. Of course she'd had girl friends in the past, but the majority of the female population just never seemed to approve of Isabelle Spicer. Perhaps it was her intelligence, above average looks, or how she refused to do all the silly 'girly' things that most girls did, or maybe it was something else altogether. Either way, it was as if she was never accepted into the girl world, and the knowledge that she'd be living in a building full of them was rather daunting. Still, she had already made an acquaintance! _I got this_ , she told herself as she walked forward.

She again found herself wondering what her year would be like here, at Bullworth Academy.


	2. Christy Martin

**SNAKES AND ARROWS**  
 _Chapter 2: Christy Martin_

* * *

As Belle reluctantly approached the entrance to the girls' dormitory, she took a moment to look over the building, which was considerably larger than the boys' dorm. It was three stories, whereas the boys' was a single floor, and it even looked wider. _How odd_ , she thought, knowing that boys outnumbered girls here nearly 5 to 1. She turned her attention back to the double doors and realized she was stalling, because the thought of walking into this giant structure full of females her own age was honestly terrifying. But, her things were somewhere in this hell-hole and she also had class at some point, so she knew the sooner she got settled into her room, the better off she'd be.

With a deep breath she entered the dorms and walked forward into what must have been the common room, a wide open area with a fake fireplace and very modern (read: uncomfortable) looking furniture. She didn't have much more time to assess her new environment before someone snapped her name.

"Spicer!"

She jumped slightly and spun around to see an older woman round the corner, recognizing her as Mrs. Peabody, who was in charge of the girls' dorms. They'd briefly met earlier when she first arrived, and the woman had taken her suitcases while she was sent to see the principal. "Oh! Uh, call me Belle, please~ Spicer is my father!" With an attempted smile, she laughed nervously. "Or... I guess my mother, depending on the... prefix, heh..." Her voice trailed off as the wrinkled and grey-haired woman stared at her completely unamused.

"Your bags are already in your assigned room. Do unpack immediate needs before your class, and tonight there is a mandatory meeting to go over all dormitory rules and policies."

"Eh... a whole meeting?" She asked with another uneasy chuckle. "Is that necessary? Is there a printed out list somewhere?"

The woman's expression remained unchanged as she glared at the younger girl, before reaching out to hand her a key. "Your room is 2-E. Welcome to Bullworth. Let me know if you have an emergency." And with that, she turned and walked off.

 _Geez, what an absolute delight_ , she muttered within her mind as she started for the staircase that spiraled up to the second floor. Repeating her room number under her breath, she meandered down the hallway until she came to the proper door. It was just barely cracked open so she merely had to give it a quiet push, before seeing someone else relaxing on their bed.

The other girl quickly looked up with wide eyes, adjusting her ponytail. "Oh! Are you the new girl?! We're roommates!" Jumping up, she rushed over to practically pull Belle into the room. "My name's Christy!"

Belle could only seem to blink, not quite prepared for such enthusiasm and energy, but still did her best to smile politely. "Uh, nice to meet you, I'm Belle~"

"Wow, you're like, really pretty... and you seem nice!"

"Um... thanks? I mean, so do you."

"Honestly I was a little nervous, getting a new roomie," she leaned in a bit closer, her blue eyes shimmering behind stray strands of her bright red hair, "I mean, heh, you know Bullwo- oh, I guess you don't know. But you'll find out soon enough! This place attracts... strange people, ya know?"

"Really...?" Walking over to her own bed, she sat down and her chipper new friend followed her, sitting down next to her.

"Oh goodness, alright! Let me explain to you everything you need to know about this place!"

Belle gave a slight frown, cocking a brow. "Can I... not figure it out on my own?"

Christy feverishly shook her head. "Nooooo~ not before potentially ruining your reputation! Trust me!"

She wasn't sure she really needed a social tutorial on how to survive a schoolyard, but she didn't know how to refuse without being rude. She also needed friends, especially if she was going to be living with this one for the next year. "Okay," she mused, giving in to the other's enthusiasm, "teach me the ways of the Bullworth student!"

* * *

Christy turned out to be somewhat of an encyclopedia of knowledge about the sociological aspects of Bullworth Academy. She taught Belle how the students were mainly grouped into various cliques; the preps, the jocks, the greasers, the nerds, and the bullies. Each clique had their own hierarchy of leadership and had their own areas of the school - the nerds hung out around the library and the observatory, the jocks had the gym and the football field, etc. Belle thought it was pretty simple, straightforward, and even a bit cliche, but Christy told her these things with such a strong conviction that she wondered if she was missing something important.

"So what about students who don't fit into a clique?" Belle asked, though only half-interested. She never really fit into any kind of category or clique, but preferred it that way. She wanted to be able to decide who her friends were based on their merits as a person, not for fickle reasons like similar clothing style.

"Well! That can either go one of two ways~ I, for instance, don't belong to a clique but I'm well liked and can float around and talk to everyone, you know?"

A genuine laugh escaped from the raven-haired girl. "You do seem like the type who talks to _everyone_!"

"Exactly! And there are a few other non-clique students who are the same way. Basically, if you're cool, you can make connections within each clique and everyone kind of accepts you."

"Well that sounds nice... but, what's the other way?"

"That..." Her voice trailed off as she rolled her eyes and quietly sighed. "... would be the students who don't get along with _anyone_. Complete social rejects. They're pretty much ignored by all the cliques and are left to their own devices."

"Oh? Anyone I should be aware of?"

"Totally! Well, for one, there's the creep Gary Smith."

"Hmm?" Now they were getting somewhere - actual knowledge that may be useful to her. "What's his deal?"

"Ugh, he's just a complete psychopath. An A-Class asshole if I've ever seen one. Usually if you just ignore him, he'll ignore you back. Besides, he doesn't really pay much attention to girls anyways."

"I see... anyone else?"

"Hmm, well there's Ivan, who's like, obsessed with becoming some hotshot indie movie producer and thinks he has leprosy."

"Leprosy?"

"Yeah, like crazy right? It's obvious he doesn't, besides wouldn't they like keep him in a hospital or something?"

Belle resisted the urge to correct her, since it seemed unnecessary at this point. Besides, it was probably very unlikely he actually had leprosy... but then again, she'd never met the guy.

"There's also Pete, you'll know him right off the bat because he's like, super tiny. He also wears a pink polo under his sweatervest, but freaks out if anyone calls it pink!"

"Huh... I bet he washed it with a red shirt."

Christy snapped, her eyes widening. "Right?! That's what I said! But everyone thinks it's more fun to think he just bought a pink shirt."

"So what does- oh, wait, shit!" Belle blinked for a moment before suddenly jumping up and patting down the sides of her skirt to find the pockets. "When does class start?!"

The other female gave her a blank look and a disinterested shrug. "Uh, dunno, I don't have class today."

Finding her schedule, Belle pulled it out and quickly unfolded it. "Ahhhhh I've got five minutes to get to my biology class!" Racing over to her bags, she nearly ripped the zipper off a small suitcase and rummaged around to pull out a notebook. "Sorry Christy, can't be late on my first day!" Turning to the door, she bolted out and down the hallway, calling over her shoulder: "We'll chat later!"

Flying down the stairs, she cut through the common room and burst through the double-door entrance and into the bright outside world.


End file.
